


A Long Moment

by chipsandchips



Category: Servamp (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Boys In Love, Friendship/Love, Hope, Introspection, M/M, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-05
Updated: 2020-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:54:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23028115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chipsandchips/pseuds/chipsandchips
Summary: “I killed him.”Kuro watched Touma’s mouth form those words, but couldn’t quite comprehend what was being said. His brain was trying to break down and process what he had just heard.
Relationships: Kuro | Sleepy Ash & Shirota Mahiru, Kuro | Sleepy Ash/Shirota Mahiru
Comments: 6
Kudos: 136





	A Long Moment

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place during chapter 64.

Time didn’t really mean anything to a being like Kuro. It came it went… all of it was rather meaningless to him. Days blended into months then years then into centuries, making time irrelevant to a creature who was completely unaffected by it. No, time didn’t matter at all. Or at least it didn’t until he met Mahiru. Since meeting his Eve, all Kuro wanted was more time.

And at that moment, time seemed to completely stop.

“I killed him.”

Kuro watched Touma’s mouth form those words, but couldn’t quite comprehend what was being said. His brain was trying to break down and process what he had just heard.

**I killed him**

The words slithered in his head and seemed to expand, making it difficult to think straight. He couldn’t get the words out of his head, they had taken root and he could feel a terrible dread spreading throughout his body. His chest tightened as if someone had reached into a part of him he assumed was empty and squeezed tightly, crushing the tiny heart he didn’t realize was still there. It was difficult to breath and Kuro wondered if this is what it felt like to die.

Somewhere inside him the little demon smirked and hissed, _I told you this would happen. Anyone who gets involved with you just ends up dying. Poor Sleepy Ash...alone again._

_No…_ His thoughts tried to push out those poisonous words **I killed him**. Mahiru could not be dead. He was Kuro’s Eve and Kuro had promised to protect him. Mahiru was strong… he wouldn’t die and leave Kuro behind. _He wouldn’t,_ Kuro thought desperately.

_Mahiru…_

Kuro closed his eyes and took a shaky breath. He tried to quiet the panic in his mind and concentrate. This was not the time to lose control and give in to grief. It would be so easy to sink into the darkness within him and not have to deal with reality, but he couldn’t do that. He refused to believe Touma. He refused to believe that he had lost his Eve. Mahi was his home now…if his home was gone then Kuro would once again have no place to belong. 

Before Mahiru, Kuro had wandered through the ages lost and disengaged from everything around him. He drifted through time as if nothing matter. Since meeting his Eve, though, everything changed. Kuro had a purpose, a home, a connection. All of that was foreign to him and at times troublesome, but they were things that Kuro had started to treasure. Mahiru had given him all those things. Mahiru with his brown eyes that held the sun, his wide smile, his laugh that always made Kuro a little light-headed, his unyielding optimism, his constant need to help everyone… Everything that made up Mahiru, Kuro wanted to protect and cherish. The Servamp finally had someone who cared for him and someone he cared for in return. The thought of losing that was completely terrifying to him. If he lost Mahiru then Kuro was certain that he would lose himself as well.

The Servamp never realized how dark and lonely his world had been before he met Mahiru. The human was a light and warmth that held Kuro’s darkness at bay. He could still feel that warmth somewhere inside him, like a tiny flame flickering in a sea of black that refused to go out. Kuro imagined himself holding onto that flame, desperate to prevent it from extinguishing. He felt a lightness come over him, like a weight had been lifted off and he could breathe again. A pleasant tingling spread through him, overcoming his previous fear and numbness. The new sensation made him feel warm, safe, and loved. It was the same feeling he got when Mahiru smiled at him. His heart skipped a beat and his breath hitched.

_He’s not dead._

Kuro opened his eyes again. He could see his brother out of the corner of his eye, staring in shock at Touma. Both he and the Eve of Greed believed those terrible words **I killed him** , but Kuro was not convinced. “Lawless,” he said softly but firmly “...call my name.”

“…Sleepy Ash?”

But no, that was not his name. He didn’t need that name anymore.

“…No not that one.”

He needed to hear the name that Mahiru gave him. The name a boy gave a lone cat in an alley. The name that gave him a purpose. The name he loved because of the person who gave it to him. Mahiru had given him many things and one of his favorites was that name. It made Kuro feel like he belonged somewhere… that he belonged with Mahiru.

Hyde hesitated, unsure and afraid of what would happen when he spoke the next word. He took a deep breath and called out his brother’s name in an uncharacteristically quavering voice, “Kuro…”

The Servamp of Sloth could feel the warmth in him expand until it filled his whole body and he closed his eyes to savor that sensation. It was comforting and pleasant, like someone was hugging him. He felt Mahiru all around him and could almost hear his laughter. That tiny heart of his seemed to grow and beat faster and with each beat he felt another’s somewhere else echoing his own. It was amazing how a simple name could have such an effect on him.

**_That’s_ ** _my name…_

A long time ago, Kuro had heard of a popular folklore about a red string of fate…something about how certain people are destined for each other… soulmates or whatever. He wasn’t really paying attention at that time. He had thought it was a dumb story. Fate? Soulmates? A string? Sounded like a pain. But in that moment that seemed to last forever, he believed it. He and Mahiru were bound by something much stronger than their Servamp and Eve contract. Kuro knew that no matter what, the two of them would always find a way back to each other. He could feel that connection as it ran throughout his entire being and extend out of him past Touma, past the rubble, the walls, past everything and everyone… a connection that he knew led to Mahiru. He could almost see it, that red string that was pulled taut and seemed to go on forever. He imagined himself grabbing onto the string, tugging it… _Come back to me, Mahi…_ and feeling something move on the other end.

Kuro opened his eyes and stared at Touma. Cold eyes stared back at him and for the hundredth time or so, Kuro was unbelievably grateful that Mahiru found him in that alley and brought him home. If his Eve had never stumbled upon him, Kuro was sure his eyes would be as dead as Touma’s. The bell around his neck chimed softly and time seemed to pick up again. He defiantly held Touma's gaze, all uncertainty and fear gone from him, instead replaced by a soothing calmness. How could he have ever believed this man? This man knew nothing of his Eve and what he was capable of. 

“Mahiru," just saying his name alone filled Kuro with indescribable warmth and comfort, "...is alive."

...And his Eve would make his way back to Kuro's side. He had never felt so sure about anything in his life before.

**Author's Note:**

> Waaaah. I've been sitting on this fic for a long long time... so finally here it is.


End file.
